But even if they don’t set any world records for size, they are among the oldest — and right here in Utah, you can find the Jardine Juniper, which has lived high in the Bear River Mountains for over 1,500 years.
With its contorted limbs stretching upward, only small bunches of foliage adorn its uppermost branches. But these little clumps of energy-giving leaves have kept this tree alive longer than most civilizations on our planet.
When you hike the 10-mile trail to stand in the presence of the Jardine Juniper, it’s amazing to think that when this tree was just a seedling, neither the Aztec nor Inca empires existed and Christianity was still a young religion. The tree grew and flourished through the Renaissance, the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Industrial Age, all the while deepening its roots to sustain itself through centuries of drought and forest fires.
The Jardine Juniper is not the only ancient Juniper in our state. In Utah’s West Desert, where rainfall is less than eight inches a year, there are trees that are nearly 2,000 years old — and less than eight feet tall.
With so many of these beautiful trees around, take note next time you come upon a juniper, and maybe give it a nod — a touch of respect for these elegant elders.
Clarification: A previous version of this article stated that when the Jardine Juniper was still a seedling, Native American tribes lived all over North America. As Native American tribes still live across North America, that line has been revised.
